My grandmother would discreetly take me to church, and she would discreetly speak to me in Italian. All of these things, you really felt them as a young girl. It was difficult to exist in this uncertainty.

Matticchio family portrait with nonna Rosa. (Courtesy of Lidia Bastianich)

Video of Lidia Matticchio Bastianich: Nostalgia and Success

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I believe food remained as my connection and my tie to my grandmother. The scents, the flavors, everything. I continued cooking in order to keep her close to me.

Letizia Airos and Lidia Bastianch in theflagship restaurant, Felidia.

Lidia with her son Joseph.

We’re a perfect example of what can happen when someone seizes this opportunity. Naturally, yes, we worked very hard; yes, we made sacrifices along the way. Yes, my grandmother, my mother, and my father cried on several occasions. Yes, to all of these things, but in the end, you make something beautiful for yourself, a great opportunity.

This photo was taken In the courtyard in Busoler, Istria, around 1960. Lidia Bastianich’s Grandpa Giovanni and Nonna Rosa are on the far right. (Courtesy of Lidia Bastianich)